Jul 31, 2026 · 53 min · 11 segments
This week on the IBA Insider Podcast, Dr. Stuart Hatcher and Mike Yeomans unpack the key takeaways from Farnborough Airshow 2026 and explore the latest trends shaping the aircraft market. They…
Stuart HatcherHost
Mike YeomansGuest
And, uh, so I suppose what we should be talking really today about is the Farnborough roundup, um, initially.
Um, but obviously a little bit, um, on the lower side than what I was expecting, clearly.
Um, and certainly the SMBC order certainly sparked, you know, even before lunchtime, uh, there were 200 aircraft orders that were down for 100 on both sides.
Um, but, uh, I mean, it did get the feeling that there was something more coming down the pipe, certainly, um, I would say.
Um, I mean, it's certainly a key thing for SMBC to order, uh, so many aircraft to take their sort of backlog now when you add the ALC one into it to around 600.
Um, similarly also AerCap, you know, adding a few 787s as well to their large order that they placed, um, back in, uh, back in March, I believe it was.
But realistically, I mean, what came out the rest of it, I mean, we had a few from the Philippines, which we predicted, um, some Middle Eastern action, um, that, uh, you know, thought maybe an Etihad or Saudia.
I wasn't really believing that Emirates really were gonna come out with, uh, Ahe- Ahe- 330s.
But then, you know, it was close, Flynas, Riyadh Air, so Saudia, uh, Saudi Arabia in that sense.
Um, and I think, you know, when it typically, one of these types of shows go through and you start seeing large order placements for engine selections, you know that the, you know that the, the, the show's over and the music is playing and everyone's looking for [laughs] looking for the exit.
Um, but, you know, considering actually how far orders have been placed this year already, I mean, it was, was a, was a really very, very strong start to the year.
Um, I mean, how relevant is, how relevant are, um, air shows now? What do you think?
Well, that's one of the things we, we talk about a lot, isn't it? But I think you have, there's a few different factors in play, so it's hard to really point and say, "Oh, air shows have lost their relevance because there weren't, you know, 900 orders or there weren't 1,000 orders at the air show." We're in a situation where there's really very long lead times to get delivery of those orders.
And certainly we think the demand is, de- demand is there for the aircraft to, to, to replace the existing fleets, and, you know, we're in a more unli- likely to be in a more volatile fuel cost environment.
We've poi- pointed to some analysis recently where maybe that takes some time to feed into the decision-making-
... and the orders, so maybe you see something more towards the end of the year into next year.
And, uh, so I suppose what we should be talking really today about is the Farnborough roundup, um, initially.
Um, but obviously a little bit, um, on the lower side than what I was expecting, clearly.
Um, and certainly the SMBC order certainly sparked, you know, even before lunchtime, uh, there were 200 aircraft orders that were down for 100 on both sides.
Um, but, uh, I mean, it did get the feeling that there was something more coming down the pipe, certainly, um, I would say.
Um, I mean, it's certainly a key thing for SMBC to order, uh, so many aircraft to take their sort of backlog now when you add the ALC one into it to around 600.
Um, similarly also AerCap, you know, adding a few 787s as well to their large order that they placed, um, back in, uh, back in March, I believe it was.
But realistically, I mean, what came out the rest of it, I mean, we had a few from the Philippines, which we predicted, um, some Middle Eastern action, um, that, uh, you know, thought maybe an Etihad or Saudia.
I wasn't really believing that Emirates really were gonna come out with, uh, Ahe- Ahe- 330s.
But then, you know, it was close, Flynas, Riyadh Air, so Saudia, uh, Saudi Arabia in that sense.
Um, and I think, you know, when it typically, one of these types of shows go through and you start seeing large order placements for engine selections, you know that the, you know that the, the, the show's over and the music is playing and everyone's looking for [laughs] looking for the exit.
Um, but, you know, considering actually how far orders have been placed this year already, I mean, it was, was a, was a really very, very strong start to the year.
Um, I mean, how relevant is, how relevant are, um, air shows now? What do you think?
Well, that's one of the things we, we talk about a lot, isn't it? But I think you have, there's a few different factors in play, so it's hard to really point and say, "Oh, air shows have lost their relevance because there weren't, you know, 900 orders or there weren't 1,000 orders at the air show." We're in a situation where there's really very long lead times to get delivery of those orders.
And certainly we think the demand is, de- demand is there for the aircraft to, to, to replace the existing fleets, and, you know, we're in a more unli- likely to be in a more volatile fuel cost environment.
We've poi- pointed to some analysis recently where maybe that takes some time to feed into the decision-making-
... and the orders, so maybe you see something more towards the end of the year into next year.
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